Different groups gathered on August 23 in Davao City to officially launch the Free Agusan 6 Network which will lead the campaign for the release of the Agusan 6 political prisoners. The six are organizers and defenders of the rights of farmers and indigenous peoples in Mindanao who were arrested on June 13 at a checkpoint in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur.

The Agusan 6 are Charisse Bernadine “Chaba” Bañez, Louvaine Erika “Beng” Espina, Ronnie Igloria, Larry Montero, Arjie Guino Dadizon, and Grace “Niknik” Man-aning. They were traveling from Monkayo, Davao De Oro when authorities forced them out of their vehicle, made them lie face down, and claimed that weapons and explosives were confiscated from their vehicle.

After their arrest, the 10th ID, the National Task Force-Elcac, and its paid “former rebel” agents immediately disseminated lies that the detainees were Communist Party of the Philippines senior leaders and New People’s Army Red fighters. They intensified the campaign to spread this narrative to make the irregular arrests appear legitimate.

Human rights groups widely condemned the arrest of the Agusan 6. According to Karapatan-Southern Mindanao, the arrest formed “part of a broader pattern of systematic human rights violations under the Marcos regime.”

Regarding the charges against the Agusan 6, the 5th Municipal Circuit Trial Court in Don Carlos, Bukidnon issued a decision for the provisional dismissal of the murder and frustrated murder cases against Bañez and Dadizon. This month, a provisional dismissal was also reported for the attempted homicide charge against Espina in Davao Oriental.

According to the network, the dismissal of these cases proved their baselessness and the use of fabricated charges to harass and to long detain the Agusan 6.

On the day of the network’s official launch, student councils under the University of the Philippines (UP) System released a statement of support for the struggle of the Agusan 6, particularly for Bañez, a former UP Student Regent. The statements for the Agusan 6 is linked to a resolution approved by the UP General Assembly of Student Councils.

Bañez graduated with a BA in Communication Arts from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). She was a university student council officer and later appointed as Student Regent for the entire UP System. Espina is also a youth activist from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

Dadizon, Igloria, and Montero come from peasant families, while Man-aning is a youth Lumad leader in Talaingod. Dadizon is from North Cotabato, while Igloria and Montero are from Compostela, Davao de Oro.